Prepare to Hang Up the Phone, Forever

Telecom Providers Want an End to the Landline

At decade's end, the trusty landline telephone could be nothing more than a memory.

Telecom giants AT&T and Verizon Communications are lobbying states, one by one, to hang up the plain, old telephone system, what the industry now calls POTS--the copper-wired landline phone system whose reliability and reach made the U.S. a communications powerhouse for more than 100 years.

Last week, Michigan joined more than 30 other states that have passed or are considering laws that restrict state-government oversight and eliminate "carrier of last resort" mandates, effectively ending the universal-service guarantee that gives every U.S. resident access to local-exchange wireline telephone service, the POTS. (There are no federal regulations guaranteeing Internet access.)

The two providers want to lay the crumbling POTS to rest and replace it with Internet Protocol-based systems that use the same wired and wireless broadband networks that bring Web access, cable programming and, yes, even your telephone service, into your homes. You may think you have a traditional landline because your home phone plugs into a jack, but if you have bundled your phone with Internet and cable services, you're making calls over an IP network, not twisted copper wires.

California, Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Ohio are among states that agree telecom resources would be better redirected into modern telephone technologies and innovations, and will kill copper-based technologies in the next three years or so. Kentucky and Colorado are weighing similar laws, which force people to go wireless whether they want to or not.

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In Mantoloking, N.J., Verizon wants to replace the landline system, which Hurricane Sandy wiped out, with its wireless Voice Link. That would make it the first entire town to go landline-less, a move that isn't sitting well with all residents.

New Jersey's legislature, worried about losing data applications such as credit-card processing and alarm systems that wireless systems can't handle, wants a one-year moratorium to block that switch. It will vote on the measure this month. (Verizon tried a similar change in Fire Island, N.Y., when its copper lines were destroyed, but public opposition persuaded Verizon to install fiber-optic cable.)

It's no surprise that landlines are unfashionable, considering many of us already have or are preparing to ditch them. More than 38% of adults and 45.5% of children live in households without a landline telephone, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means two in every five U.S. homes, or 39%, are wireless, up from 26.6% three years ago. Moreover, a scant 8.5% of households relied only on a landline, while 2% were phoneless in 2013.

Metropolitan residents have few worries about the end of landlines. High-speed wire and wireless services are abundant and work well, despite occasional dropped calls. Those living in rural areas, where cell towers are few and 4G capability limited, face different issues.

Safety is one of them. Call 911 from a landline and the emergency operator pinpoints your exact address, down to the apartment number. Wireless phones lack those specifics, and even with GPS navigation aren't as precise. Matters are worse in rural and even suburban areas that signals don't reach, sometimes because they're blocked by buildings or the landscape.

That's of concern to the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees all forms of U.S. communications services. Universal access is a tenet of its mission, and, despite the state-by-state degradation of the mandate, it's unwilling to let telecom companies simply drop geographically undesirable customers. Telecom firms need FCC approval to ax services completely, and can't do so unless there is a viable competitor to pick up the slack. Last year AT&T asked to turn off its legacy network, which could create gaps in universal coverage and will force people off the grid to get a wireless provider.

AT&T and the FCC will soon begin trials to explore life without copper-wired landlines. Consumers will voluntarily test IP-connected networks and their impact on towns like Carbon Hills, Ala., population 2,071. They want to know how households will reach 911, how small businesses will connect to customers, how people with medical-monitoring devices or home alarms know they will always be connected to a reliable network, and what the costs are.

"We cannot be a nation of opportunity without networks of opportunity," said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in unveiling the plan. "This pilot program will help us learn how fiber might be deployed where it is not now deployed…and how new forms of wireless can reach deep into the interior of rural America."

I am not sure this article is completely accurate. Wireless systems (i.e. cell network) CAN handle alarm systems, but most VOIP cannot, at least that is what the alarm companies usually tell you. Domestic alarm systems which use the cell network have a small transmitter installed with their controller that serves this purpose.

Bob, as it happens, I'm very ill and would definitely need to use my landline in case of emergency during a power outage. Does this mean the FCC or somebody else will keep AT&T from ever yanking my landline?

I have a small business that i run out of the home and need a fax machine. I use an online fax service, email and all other digital goodies, but need that land line as a backup and for faxing. Also, it works in a power outage

The article's author has mixed up a number of industry terms and concepts: - POTS: Plain Old Telephone Service - this normally refers to basic, analog telephone functionality with few features. Just baseline functionality. - PSTN: the Public Switched Telephone Network - This is the general term for the interconnected telephone network provided by all the carriers (AT&T, Verizon, etc.). Since about the 1980s or so, the PSTN has been largely comprised of a TDM digital backbone and analog signaling for the "last mile" to residences. Most midsize and above businesses have end-to-end digital communications. - Copper/Optical Fiber: these are physical media. Although Optical Fiber is only used to transmit digital communications (TDM or modern IP), copper is used to carry both analog and digital (TDM or IP). - Since the rise of the internet age, carriers have built a somewhat parallel network infrastructure that transports voice/data using IP signaling (vs. the previously used TDM digital infrastructure - think of the old Sprint pin-drop commercials). Maintaining the two separate networks has a cost. The newer IP protocol (originally a poor fit for voice communications) has evolved into a very capable network that can transport all voice and data in the most efficient fashion. It arguably now provides the best (certainly the fastest) bang for the buck.

So, naturally, the time has come for the legacy telcos to begin exploring ways to retire the old analog and TDM network, and merge all functionality on to the newer IP network. In most scenarios, copper will continue to be used to provide last-mile (or least last couple hundred yards) transport to residences; Verizon FIOS was the notable exception. The transition process will need to address whether and how to provide certain characteristics of the legacy network: most notably, continued functionality during (long-duration) power failures, compatibility with certain slow-speed data applications (such as alarm circuits), possible residential wire re-configurations, and the not-so-simple task of transitioning EVERY SINGLE ONE of their residential and small-business customers to the new technology in some semi-organized/coherent fashion. CAN THIS BE DONE? IS ALL LEGACY FUNCTIONALITY (ESPECIALLY POWER-FAILURE RESILIENCY) TO BE BROUGHT FORWARD? IF SO, HOW? THIS is the STORY. This is what the FCC and carriers are wrestling with.

Wow. There are a lot of comments here by people who have no understanding of the old telecom system. The AT&T/former Bell system has to meet Federal regulations that no other telecom company has to meet. The regulations will fill a room full of books. Some of those regulations required service to outlying areas where the company lost money. Central offices have to withstand 200 MPH winds. A few were designed to withstand a 600 MPH blast. These buildings still have massive battery backups and generators with a 7 day supply of fuel. Maintenance cost of this infrastructure is high. Now consider that the phone company competitors have to meet very few rules regarding universal service and no reqirements for reliability. As customers have left to cheaper alternatives, fewer customers are left to support the aging equipment. The old telecom system with its regulations and high costs no one wants to pay for is an albatross to AT&T/Verizon. It is a big money loser. It is time to eliminate the old phone structure now there is no longer a Bell monopoly. It is only fair.

"Visibly squirm" just might be the incentive I need to show up at a hearing. I'm in a wheelchair, so I'll look pitifully ill even as I go to town on them. I was a Forbes reporter, so I know how to go to town forcefully and cogently.

I got tired of paying $35 a month for my CenturyLink $13.50 a month phone service. The rest was for Al Gore, Obama's parasite's cell phones, and myriad other "Fees." Now we have two TracPhones from WalMart and pay about $0.05 a minute, for about 30 minutes a month, max.

I haven't had a land line in over ten years, but they were more reliable, at least in their old form. Wireless coverage is adequate around here, but out in the sticks it may be a different story. And nobody is going to cover hard-to-reach customers unless the government makes them do it.

It is insane for Florida or any state in the Hurricane belt to allow the TELCOs to eliminate POTS. Each year, communities lose power for long periods, in some cases weeks at a time. POTS has the virtue of being self-powered at the user end. All the other alternatives, specifically including the VOIP, fiber and cell phone quickly run down the user batteries and then all communications...stops. In 2004, great swaths of my city were without power for about a month. Without POTS, there would not be a working telephone within miles in that part of the city.

There is no privacy with Wireless, in case you haven't noticed The News. This conversation is really about Mining our existing Data, and leaving each citizen with no choice. I would think AntiTrust Laws should kick in, but that would mean people would move beyond the 'innovation' discussion, to the Real Truth. Both should be available for Emergencies, and Land Lines should be a Choice. You don't have to make it, but without one, you have No Choice.

I can understand switching to 100% wireless voice (*IF* every cell tower has a generator in it that can keep the system working for a week during power outages) but what about internet? Yes, I know the internet can run through cell phones, but the data charges are enormous, and limited. By comparison, DSL or Cable modem has unlimited data for the basic package price. Is this a scam to get people to use more of the very expensive data on their cell phone?

1) Fixed line should still work in a general power outage. Just be sure to have a phone that doesn't need to be plugged into anything to run (like most cordless phones!2) VOIP is great for communicating as long as the power is on!3) Cell is also ok, but, remember that "smart" phones usually last only a day, or so, before needing a recharge! (You can always do this from your auto using the cigarette lighter slot & an adaptor.)4) Satellite phones work in all circumstances, but they are way too expensive. And, besides, the NSA is listening in!---Cell & VOIP advantages:1) When you move, you don't have to pay TPC to transfer your number, or install a phone!2) You can pick your area code! And, within some reason, your phone number.3) You can chose a hybrid VOIP/cell service (like Republic Wireless) for a much lower cell phone cost if you only want to talk when you are away from your home/office.4) VOIP is so cheap (MagicJack is less than $3.00/month) that you can set up a second line as a business voice mail drop at very little expense (the system doesn't even have to have your VOIP phone attached)!5) You don't have to buy insurance (Linebacker) to cover those phone lines in your home (saves about $2.00/month).----Ergo, land line service is becoming financially untenable. That's why you see the carriers trying to just plain get rid of it!

Our fiber optic went out in early January. Unfortunately, it was hard-wired into our Christmas Tree! So, it was back to the good ol' copper-wired mini-lights for our display.---All jokes aside, we ditched the copper-wire phones 2 years ago. The service was deteriorating & the price increasing past the pain point. It was the CenturyLink takeover in our area that finally broke the camel's back as the DSL went to S-word! We got cable internet, I set up a Magicjack for VOIP & we converted our security system to a cell based operation. So, we now have 2 VOIPs & 2 Cell phones & we never plan on going back.

PS. in re, lousy service: We had our communications drop & the carrier charged us for a home visit when I could prove that the outage was from their junction box out! ... Never again with those schmoes!

I heard a speech 20 or 25 years ago about the evolving telecom situation. The speaker, from some remnant of Bell Labs, talked about the conflicting business models of the regulated phone utility versus the computer industry. The regulated utility took responsibility for 99.999% or "5 nines" reliability. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_old_telephone_service .) That was achieved through investment in durable equipment, the famous copper wires and banks of storage batteries at the central office. The utility was happy to make the investments because "return on investment" was the basis for what they could charge. The speaker contrasted the computer industry, which wanted to make money up front and let the customer deal with problems.

Part of the old system was that the regulated companies planned every detail and did what they said they were doing. I was privileged to tour a phone office or two in the Bell System days. The batteries were there. Now we have POTS in the sense of two wires entering the house. The CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) creates the POTS signal right in the neighborhood, making a transition from coax which makes a transition from fiber. Conceptually, it is a fine system and gives us old-fashioned service including fax capability, which gets used every year or two. The neighborhood electronics depends on power from the electric utility, with battery backup. The catch is that they don't maintain the neighborhood battery. When the lights go off, so does our POTS. When the system was newer, POTS and internet would continue for a limited time during a power outage. It is seemingly not too complicated to give old-fashioned service with newfangled equipment. But 5-nines reliability requires maintenance.

Interesting, but first the Telecoms need to figure out how to guarantee telephone service during a power outage with VOIP — The 100 year-old POTS can do this, so should be a simple matter to have this with VOIP

For me I'd rather have the bandwidth of fiber over copper, but the source is where the reliability comes in, I'm not sure why AT&T's original copper was so reliable, but perhaps that reliability could be established by stripping the backbone all the way to the homes from cable companies, giving it back to AT&T and leaving the cable companies as just content suppliers over the fiber. Additionally there could be NO mergers between the NET and content suppliers.

Lastly we need a second separate parallel private NET for the Military that NO Ruskie, Snowden or Chinese hacker can steal secrets from. Privacy for American citizens needs to be addressed too!

It's all about the money. The old POTS (plain old telephone service) is expensive to maintain, and just not economical in the modern telecommunications mix. VOIP is incredibly cheap (as little as $2/month for service better than a POTS landline) and works great.

These days it's easy to arrange redundant telecommunications - you can get broadband DSL or cable or wireless, and if you need it, get a battery backup for your modem / router / VOIP box. If you really need super-reliable service, get a pay-as-you-go wireless broadband box in case your primary service fails.

Copper landlines can take days to repair when a tree rips the wires or a car knocks over a pole or a backhoe or landslide cuts a cable. A COW (cell-on-wheels) can bring back wireless service in minutes.

I've just gone through this wretched dance. My alarm system reported -just fine- over the land line. Then ATT told me that they were no longer supporting DSL service and that I had to switch to U-Verse. OK, I spent a long afternoon having the U-Verse wireless router (slower and much less capable than my Linksys router) then getting the network set up again,Then I found that the alarm system didn't talk VOIP. No amount of reconfiguring could _make_ it work (two days of service calls, a week of calendar time lost). Options include a radio link ($200 installation plus a monthly rental) or change out the alarm panel ($800) and _pay the same addition to the monitoring fee_ because "IP monitoring gives you better monitoring". All of this with two months of no monitored alarm system.Now here's the kicker. The cable plant from my house to the local office is exactly the same copper, it would have cost not one cent to maintain the same copper-based base-band audio service that would be more reliable when the inevitable hurricane comes around.

I'm in a high rise in a resort city. AT&T and Verizon have been terrible. Dropped calls. Bad sound quality. Often I cannot move about the apartment while on a call for fear of losing the signal. And during tourist season and conventions, forget about it. The network totally overloaded. I miss my landline!

Anti Trust Laws are not enforceable with regulated monopolies. The phone company (& the cell companies, later) are under the jurisdiction of the FCC & local PUCs. Resellers, like TracPhone & Republic Wireless, follow-on as a part of this operation. VOIPs also are under control of the FCC.

Also, land lines can only be a choice if the provider can make a profit. No profit & ultimately, no provider. (Then again, about AMAZON? It looks like a real run for the money there!)

PS. AT&T agreed to become a regulated monopoly over 100 years ago, just like many electric companies, as a tradeoff. You regulate us & we negotiate rates with you while you keep the competition from coming after us! A nice deal, when it works.

Nope. the scam is to eliminate the ever dropping revenue/expense ratio system called land line service. With so many folks cutting the cord, the system is beginning to fail due to the reduction in revenue vs. the continued expense of maintaining the system. Every time someone cuts the cord, or never signs up & goes directly to a cell phone service, the profit margin gets squeezed just a little bit more. Then the price rises & more folks bail.

So, what's happening is that the land line folks are dumping the losing systems & moving to the profitable systems. You only see this as a public fight because the systems are "regulated" and fraught with political considerations.

PS. Look no further than: Typewriters --> Dedicated Word Processors (WP) --> PC applications for WP. Land Lines are going the way of Buggy Whips. ............

Reply to Carl Martin: He leased some of them as cell sites. At one site the poured concrete building at the site was sold to a water district for their maintenance depot, while he kept the tower. Another site had new antennae installed for a link in a high speed trading network.

@Worthy--Thanks for the info. I was wondering why our land line goes out when the electricity gies out. I remember the rational for keeping the landline was that landline phones would function in a power outage. No longer true.

Fiber-optic replaced microwave for long distance telephone years ago. So about a dozen years ago, A.T. & T. sold off hundreds of its old microwave towers. Such as the 120'+ 20X20 concrete microwave towers that were the back bone of their main network between NY and Chicago, as well as hundreds of conventional steel self-supporting towers..

My friend bought a number of these towers at fire-sale prices. One in north central Ohio had been abandoned for two years, leaving all the equipment in place (and the electric on). Everything, including the battery system, still worked, despite the lack of any maintenance for several years.

No. These are "wired," not "wireless," services. The difference is the 19th century telephone design uses a pair of copper wires (and a "ground" or "earth" reference somewhere), powered by DC voltage from the central office to run your WalMart/Radio Shack touch-tone phone. Newer systems use fiber optic cable and digitize the phone calls. However, these systems require electronics near your house to convert the signals into something your telephone will recognize. While fiber optic cables can be buried, the cost of tearing up the streets is such that the telephone company will just hang the cables on "telephone" poles (which are usually owned by the local electric utility--the telco pays rent).

I'll definitely take your word for it. We have had cell phones for years (me 11, her 18) & so we slowly stopped using the land line. We never noticed what you saw, but I'll definitely believe it. The old systems used to have back-up batteries & generators. Batteries for up to 24 hours & generators afterwards to pick up the load (and recharge the batteries).

Did he get one similar to the one I visited in Bell System days? The tower was on a 9 storey deep concrete foundation, with 18" thick steel doors, and air, water and food for 90 days. At the lowest level there was a lead-covered copper cable that was part of the DoD network for after the nukes fell on New York. All EMP protected . . . These towers had redundant connections in a hex grid so the links would survive a major attack.

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